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Thief ant mating flights…

Thief ants are among the most abundant insects in the midwest, but most people will never see them. They are small- only about 2mm long- and spend most of their time underground. The large relatively large size of the queens indicates a species capable of raising new colonies from workers fed entirely on the body reserves of young queens like this one. She will fly off, mate, and tunnel underground when she finds a suitable nesting site.

Incidentally, this whole drama played out on our front walkway. Urban lots can host plenty of nature for those willing to look.

I think I have seen them (in Michigan). Perhaps they are the ants that make abundant mounds on my lawn. They are small, have this color, and they sure are numerous.
Why are the workers hanging onto the queen in the 1st photo?

This isn’t a shot of the exact species in question (Solenopsis molesta), but as yet no one exactly knows how to distinguish the species of thief ants based on males. Thus, a shot of S. carolinensis is as good as a shot of S. molesta for most purposes: http://www.antweb.org/specimenImages.do?name=casent0104496